Waltham Educators to Star in Ordinary Days at the Arsenal

The Opposite of People, a new theater company in the greater Boston area, presents Ordinary Days: A Modern Musical, opening next week at the Arsenal Center for the Arts.

One of musical theatre’s most exciting new composers, Adam Gwon, creates a score of vibrant and memorable songs, capturing with stinging clarity that uneasy moment in youth when doubts begin to cloud hopes for a future of unlimited possibility, and the connections that, knowingly or not, help you find your way. Ordinary Days is a refreshingly honest and funny musical that tells the story of four young New Yorkers whose lives intersect as they search for fulfillment, happiness, love, a cab, and a lost notebook.

Starring as the female leads in the production are Waltham residents, Jackie Theoharis as Deb and Holly Ann Marshall as Claire.

“Ordinary Days is without a doubt one of my favorite shows,” says Theoharis, “A friend introduced me to the cast album a few years back and I immediately fell in love with its simplicity, unique yet relatable characters, and beautiful message. Deb has been a dream role of mine since I first listened to the album - it’s not a show that is frequently produced, so I was thrilled to see it in The Opposite of People’s season. I think the characters and their life stories make this musical worth experiencing.”

“The characters are so relatable, realistic and the stories for each of them really brings home how momentous seemingly small or simple decisions in life can be,” adds Marshall, “Claire has fleeting interactions with both Deb and Warren, which serves as a constant reminder to me personally of how the little things we do (or don’t do) can affect strangers in a big way.”

Throughout the show, one of the characters hands out flyers to passersby imprinted with inspirational messages. These messages, though occasionally kitschy, speak to the characters as they go through their own personal ordeals . In the spirit of the show, Theoharis and Marshall shared their own messages that speak to them.

“Not my circus, not my monkeys!” says Marshall, “ I interpret that as other people’s crazy doesn’t have to be your crazy.”

Theoharis’ is actually from Ordinary Days,

“Things aren’t beautiful all on their own

Beautiful comes from reflection.

Beautiful takes a person who makes a connection,

You know what I mean?

For beautiful to happen, the beautiful has got to be seen.”

No strangers to the theatre, Theoharis and Marshall have an impressive list of roles under their belts. Theoharis has starred in productions of The Drowsy Chaperone (Janet), Little Women (Jo March), and Next to Normal (Natalie) while Marshall starred in the world premiere of Jack the Ripper: The Whitechapel Musical (Mary) in addition to The Fantasticks (Luisa), Carousel (Carrie), and Les Misérables (Cosette).

In addition, both women teach the arts to the future generations. Theoharis teaches extracurricular theater, art and dance through various recreational and professional studios around Massachusetts whereas Marshall teaches Music at the South Shore Conservatory and Community Music Center of Boston.

When not immersed in the arts, Theoharis works at Bit9, a Waltham software company, and enjoys traveling, swimming, eating cake batter ice cream, and spending quality time with her dog, Cooper.

Marshall can be found running, reading, or even flying - she’s been taking trapeze lessons (like her character) with her sister for the past year and a half.

Ordinary Days runs July 30 - August 1 at 8pm and August 1 - 2 at 2pm at the Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown, MA. The cast will also perform selections from the show at the Waltham Farmer’s Market this Saturday.

Tickets are available for all performances through Brown Paper Tickets: http://theoppositeofpeople.brownpapertickets.com or on The Opposite of People’s website: http://theoppositeofpeople.org

The Opposite of People (TOP) is a newly established theater company that is dedicated to bringing accessible, unconventional theater and little known shows to the Boston-area community.